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#AnswerMeThis: A Meme! A Tagging Meme!

Ooh, it’s been a very long time since I did a tagging meme, and I was tagged by Diana Jordon, OP, for this one. I thought I’d play along while my girls worked on their schoolwork for the next few minutes. I’ll tag a few people at the end, though I know some busy people, and I’m hoping they’ll have a few moments to play along.

1. Who are your Patron Saints and why?

I have more patron saints than any sane person needs. I, however, am not particularly sane. My Confirmation patron is St. Elizabeth of Hungary. I’m sorry to say I picked Elizabeth because it sounds nice with my name (Christine Susan Elizabeth!), not because I was enamored by the lovely gentlewoman who fed the poor and is the patron saint of bakers. (Sorry, Elizabeth!) I remember having to write a report on my patron saint – our class was the only one who had to, because the DRE, a sister whose name I forget, was our teacher – and I panicked because I actually didn’t know for sure if there WAS a Saint Elizabeth! Yay for 1970’s CCD!

I started a home business of doing phone work for 1-800-MY APPLE, and I needed to name my business. Saint Clare of Assisi is the patroness of phone and computer workers, so she & I became good friends.

When I was received as a Third Order Dominican, I needed a religious name. I did chose St. Catherine of Siena (I was born on her feast day!), but I also kept St. Clare with me. So, I’m officially Sister Catherine Clare, OP. But I don’t use that except for official Dominican type stuff.

The first year I tried Jennifer Fulwiler’s Patron Saint Selector, I got St. Charles Borromeo. I looked him up, and LO! He is patron of stomach and intestinal problems. I’ve had both. I was pleased, and we remain friends to this day.

2. What is one goal you feel you must accomplish?

I want very much to finish my girls’ educations (K-12) at home. I think this is a blessing to our family, and I really think it’s a part of how God wants to sanctify me. I also have at least one book I’m supposed to write, and I’d like to actually try my hand at writing something fictional at some point. First, let’s see about the first book, though.

Aside from that, Adoration. My weekly Holy Hour is so important to me; I cannot maintain any level of sanity without it. There are some times when I am hanging by a thread even when I go! My girls often come with me, especially my 12 year-old, who has dance immediately afterwards, but it’s still a time when it’s peaceful and quiet and I feel wonderfully alone with The Lord.

5. Why did you choose the blog name you have?

I was trying to think of something snappy, but I kept coming back to this feeling that my life as a homemaker was a vocation. My homeschooling was another part of it. It seemed (at that time, anyway), that my whole vocation was tied up in my home, in my happy Hobbit Hole. These days, even though my vocation currently involves a lot of driving (we have a soccer game this evening that’s about 40 minutes away), it’s still based in my home.

6. What is you favorite Hymn?

Oh, my girls love this! “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name” is probably my very favorite, but all of my favorites are the old traditional ones I grew up with. I will sometimes lean over at Mass, when we get to sing one of these beautiful hymns, and I’ll whisper, “Be sure to sing this at my funeral.” (Likewise, I’ve also been known to lean over and whisper, “Don’t you DARE sing this at my funeral!! I’ll haunt you forever!”)

7. Who is that one priest or sister that left that strong impact in your life?

Father Kevin, who used to be our pastor until about 1 1/2 years ago. He didn’t know it, but I was in a spiritual low place then, really yearning for some solid theology in a homily. He is the same age as me, and so we have a lot of the same life experiences from growing up, and he got along with Nathan and I really well. (We’re still friends to this day.)

I can’t really put my finger on it, but Father Kevin pushed me spiritually speaking, and it hardly felt like pushing. He’d just make a comment or statement, and let it be. Often I went in a direction from a gentle prompting from him. He encouraged me to look seriously into the Dominicans, and was pleased when I decided to begin formation. I’m deeply grateful for the time he was at our parish. I miss him, but only because I miss my friend. I know God will bless our parish with a good and holy priest this Summer.

8. What is your favorite Parable?

This is funny to me. The Prodigal Son used to be my least favorite parable. It killed me every time I heard it: younger brother goes off with parents’ money, blows everything on his stupid mistakes, and gets welcomed home with a party. I so identified with the older brother!

But as a parent, my heart has changed in relation to this parable. And it really only started a few years ago when I finally prayed about it before Mass one week. “Lord, help me understand this parable better.”

Since then, I’ve started to see it in a new light. I started to wonder more about the father and less about the sons. I thought about my own children; what if my headstrong older daughter left home under bad circumstances and ran away? What if I heard through grapevines that she was living a horrible life, drinking, using drugs, winding up having an abortion, but she never called home? What if all I did was pray she could come back to me, let me take her back in, hold her close and tell her I still loved her? What if I started trying to get a message to her through acquaintances, letting her know that our door would never be closed to her?

And what if, after all that, she finally came home to us?

See? Even now, typing this, I’m ready to cry. I wouldn’t wait for her to come to the door. I’d barely wait for her to get out of the car! I would throw the biggest party you’ve ever seen, because MY BABY CAME HOME.

When I looked at it like that, when I thought about it like God does, it changed my heart. I realized that as weak as my love is compared to God, I would be exactly like that father.

How much more does God wait for us to return to Him?

9. Which of the Gospels is your favorite?

I think it’s John, for two reasons: Chapter 6 (!!) and the opening, which is some of the most beautiful poetry in the Bible.

10. What are your favorite mysteries?

Assuming we’re still on a Catholic theme and haven’t ventured into a Columbo v. Murder, She Wrote v. Castle (Castle wins, guys – NATHAN FILLION, you see!), I’m going to have to say the Joyful Mysteries. I even gave a talk a couple of years ago on what Mary can teach us through these mysteries.

Okay, so here’s my tagging part!

I’d love answers from the following people to the questions I pose below your names. Now, I know you people are busy, so take your time, or if you think I’m insane because Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That, then just let me know. (No obligation!)

5. What did you want to be when you grew up? (Think early elementary for this one.)

6. What’s the last date-movie you saw, in a theater or in home? (And was it a theater or home date?)

7. What’s the last family-type movie you saw in the theater?

8. Okay, this is important and could jeopardize our friendship: Which universe would you rather live in: George Lucas/Star Wars or Joss Whedon/Firefly? (Optional question for non-sci-fi people: Harry Potter or Middle Earth?)

9. What’s the last thing you dressed up as for Halloween?

10. What one app is so important on your phone that, if it disappeared, you’d lose it completely? (We’re talking non-native apps, so calendar is safe. Because calendar is, obviously, the most important app there is. How else do we know where we’re going on a given day?)

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One thought on “#AnswerMeThis: A Meme! A Tagging Meme!”

Saint Charles is my husband’s other patron Saint. His confirmation Saint is Saint Christopher. But if anything Saint Charles is a very strong bond with my husband. Probably because he is a revert but also went to the all boys school Saint Charles Borromeo